


Taming

by melodyrider



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Broken Bones, F/M, Horseback Riding, Kissing, Levi has no idea what he's doing, Love Confessions, Reader-Insert, should have trusted your instincts yo, what even is tagging, you done goofed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:31:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodyrider/pseuds/melodyrider
Summary: Levi's got something he wants to say, but doesn't get the chance before you're called away for something "important" (or so you're told).





	Taming

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY SO IN MY DEFENSE my files say this was last touched in 2015 and that was just when I moved my stuff onto a flashdrive so idk how long ago I wrote this. Like, it was in my DeviantArt phase. Dear god I can't believe I wrote this. Pls be gentle I'm a better writer now (I'm pretty sure) I swear. I'm just kinda posting it bc it was completed for literal years just collecting dust on my computer so I just went "fuck it"

Today would be the day; Levi could feel it.

 

Today would be the day he grew a pair and confessed to you. For quite some time he had undeniably been in love with you, though he was unable to do more than admire you from afar and remove you from chores with the male cadets who had their eye on you, despite you being oblivious to them.

 

‘How the hell did it get this far?’ Levi inwardly groaned. The first time he set eyes on you, you had immediately captured his attention. He even would have gone as far as saying he had a crush on you, but love? When the fuck did that happen?

 

However it happened, it was damn near impossible to get you out of his head. You were stunning with your observant, striking eyes, and when you spoke, it wasn’t just for the sake of talking. You always had something intelligent, thoughtful to express with your sweet voice. Aside from that, you were a kind soul, always helping others, but that didn’t make you a pushover in the slightest sense of the word. You weren’t a bad fighter either, whether in hand-to-hand combat or killing titans. As an added bonus, you joined the military late, so you were 23 by the time you graduated. So if things went a little further quicker than Levi had thought, there wouldn’t be a problem.

 

That was, if you accepted him as yours.

 

Levi shook his head to clear his thoughts. Even if you rejected him, you were so sweet and caring that he was sure you’d do it in such a way that he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at you. With that thought in mind, he continued striding confidently down the hall of HQ, looking for you. Luck seemed to be on his side today because when he turned the corner and walked into someone going the opposite direction, it happened to be you. You stumbled back slightly and mumbled a ‘sorry’, but your eyes widened and you immediately pulled your fist to your chest while folding your other arm behind your back and standing tall in a salute when you saw who it was you walked into.

 

“Corporal! I’m sorry, I should have been looking where I was going!” you quickly apologized. Levi waved off your salute absentmindedly and you let your arms relax at your sides.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Actually, I was in the middle of looking for you.” You perked up upon hearing this.

 

“Oh? Was there something you needed?” you asked, tilting your head to the side cutely. Alright, it should be simple enough from here. All he had to do before he could confess was get you into his office.

 

Levi silently took a deep breath before speaking. “I-”

 

“(F/n)!”

 

God dammit.

 

Levi look down the corridor you had come from with a scowl on his face while you turned around curiously to see Eren was jogging towards you, slightly out of breath.

 

“What is it, Eren?” you asked, concern overtaking your features. Eren took a moment to catch his breath before responding.

 

“Commander Erwin wants you,” he informed.

 

“She’ll be right there,” Levi hissed at Eren, making the brunette flinch slightly.

 

“I-I’m sorry, sir, but he wants her now,” he squeaked. You sent Levi an apologetic look.

 

“I’d best not keep the Commander waiting. I can come find you when I’m done with him, though,” you offered.

 

“Don’t bother,” Levi scoffed. “I’ll be coming to see what’s so important.”

 

“Alright,” you turned back to Eren, “lead the way.”

 

You followed Eren with Levi close behind through the corridors of HQ until, to your surprise, he led you outside. It was nearing dinnertime, and the sun sat low in the summer sky, dipping towards the horizon while the sky around it had faded from blue to orange. The moment the doors were opened a burst of warm air from outside rushed to greet you, sending pleasant shivers up your spine. The sounds of cicadas overpowered all other noises as they sung in chorus with the birds.

 

After another wordless moment of walking, your destination became apparent; the stables. You cocked your head to the side in mild curiosity, but said nothing.

 

The closer you got, the more both your and Levi’s curiosity peaked. Surrounding the riding arena was much of the entire Survey Corps, staring intently at something in it. When you got up to the arena, you couldn’t see past the wall of people, but you immediately found the Commander and saluted once you were in front of him.

 

“You wanted me, sir?” you spoke up, capturing the attention of Erwin and several of the soldiers around him.

 

“Yes, that’s right. I understand that you’re talented with horses, correct?” You slowly nodded. It was true, after all. Since your family owned and lived on the ranch that had the honor of supplying the Survey Corps with horses, combined with the fact that you were naturally gifted with them, your skills with the creatures were widely known. Erwin stepped to the side so you and Levi could finally peer into the arena.

 

Inside, there was a solid black mare, and she looked pissed. She had her ears back as he trotted around the arena, snapping her teeth at anyone close to the rail.

 

A bad feeling simultaneously stirred in your and Levi’s guts. You forced yourself to ignore it, but Levi, who usually trusted his instincts, immediately became alert when this feeling persisted, like something bad would happen.

 

“Alright…” you slowly began, “what exactly did you want me to do?”

 

“This one’s been giving us some trouble,” Erwin explained. “So far, no one’s been able to ride her without being thrown off, and I was hoping you’d be able to help.”

 

You cast another glance to the arena, at the horse. Still, the tight, twisting feeling in your stomach persisted. Your parents had always taught you to trust your intuition about a horse, but you couldn’t just refuse to help when it was asked of you by the Commander himself, could you? After several moments of silent tension and internal debate, you sucked in a deep breath and walked towards the gate leading into the arena. Upon seeing you coming, the soldiers in your way stepped back, giving you a clear path to the arena’s entrance. You opened the sliding lock and focused your stare on the mare. Her ears perked up when she heard the gate loudly squeak when the wood grinded against the wooden rail, and she snapped her head around to stare at you.

 

“Armin,” you quietly spoke, earning a hum in acknowledgement from the blond in question, and you stepped into the arena. “Close the gate behind me, and tell me when it’s locked,” you directed, almost inaudibly. Armin quickly did as you told him and closed the gate, setting the lock in place.

 

“Alright,” he softly told you once the lock slid into place. You breathed a tiny thanks and moved forward. Your steps were slow, calculated, precise, and purposeful. At this point you and the mare were trying to stare each other down. When you were three yards away from her, she spun around to face you directly and pinned her ears flat against her skull. Your eyes flickered to the reins attached to her bridle (you momentarily pondered how they had even managed to get the bridle and saddle on her in the first place but quickly dismissed the thought) before you slowly brought up a hand, cautiously watching for any reaction from her. When she didn’t move, you took hold of the reins, near her mouth to try and restrict movement in case she suddenly decided to try and bite you.

 

You slowly moved to her side and kept watching for a reaction. When you didn’t receive one, you put your foot in the stirrup of the saddle and hauled yourself up and onto it as quickly as possible. Once you were seated, you shortened the reins and gripped them tightly in both hands. Your heart pounded furiously in your chest and the bad feeling in your gut never faltered, but you gave a tiny squeeze with your legs, bracing yourself for the worst.

 

The mare took off bucking like you were in a rodeo. She reared back, pawing at the air, and began kicking again as soon as she came back down. You kept her head up to the best of your ability in an effort to keep her from bucking, but to no avail as she threw her head down, once or twice managing to pull the reins from your grip, and continued. She spun around, jerking violently in every direction in attempts to throw you off.

 

It wouldn’t have worked if you didn’t lose your balance.

 

You leaned too far to the side at the same time the mare turned a sharp left and bucked again, resulting in you unable to keep yourself in the saddle. You fell to the side, but the mare wasn’t done with you yet. She whipped around and bucked again, kicking the side of your ribcage with overwhelming force. When you collided with the ground, you landed directly on your arm, and you clearly heard a sickening CRACK! from it. A sharp cry of pain forced itself from your throat as you laid on the ground and the mare bulleted to the other side of the arena.

 

Everyone watching was frozen, stunned to see a horse best you. Some were simply shocked, others were mortified when crimson began to blossom at your side where you were kicked. You weakly lifted your head to keep an eye on the mare.

 

She was on the opposite side of the arena, snorting and pawing at the ground. Your eyes widened. It was clear she was about to charge at you, but the combined pain in your arm and ribs, both most likely broken, kept you from being able to get up.

 

Just as you predicted, she took off full speed straight towards you. You put your head down and covered it with your uninjured arm, trying to shield at least some part of your body, while squeezing your eyes shut and waiting for another burst of pain.

 

But it never came.

 

You dared to crack an eye open and raise your head slightly in curiosity. You saw the figure of someone who must have jumped the rail who was now holding the reins of the mare, barely two yards away from you. You could make out the short stature and raven hair, along with steel blue eyes that burned with rage.

 

“Corporal?” Your lips formed the word, but no sound came out. Levi gave the reins a hard yank, making the mare raise her head and take a step back, away from Levi. Levi kept forcing her back until he was sure there was a safe distance between you and her, and he let go of the reins. She immediately cantered away, eager to get away from him. She returned to the opposite side of the arena, but this time, she stayed there.

 

Levi glared darkly at her before turning and walking towards you. He stooped down and carefully picked you up bridal style, trying to not jostle your arm too much. As soon as he had a good grip on you, he was walking back to the arena’s entrance.

 

“Open the gate,” he ordered. One of the cadets quickly scrambled to get it open, and they closed it behind him as soon as he was out. You stared up at the sky with a dazed look on your face, and Levi could only guess that you were still in shock.

 

After several minutes that would have been silent if not for the cicadas chirping and the birds singing loudly outside, he brought you to the infirmary, though it looked like no one else was in it at the moment. The room was unusually cold and stuffy, sending a chill down your spine and making you shiver, which did not go unnoticed by Levi.

 

He brought you to the farthest bed and gently set you down on top of it before going to the window directly next to you and opening it, allowing the warm breeze to roll in. The arena was visible from the window, and you sat up to see the mare still throwing a fit inside of it. Your face darkened and you laid yourself down on the bed, throwing your good arm over your eyes.

 

“…I fucking blew it…” you mumbled to no one in particular. Levi’s eyebrows furrowed in mild confusion.

 

“What?” he asked. You removed your arm from over your eyes and stared at the ceiling.

 

“I had a deal with the Commander that if I could prove I was capable enough of handling the horses on my own, he’d appoint me to head of the stables. But, one small slip up was all it took. I’ve completely fucked myself over.”

 

Levi listened, and his gaze shifted to your injuries. “Right now, I don’t think that should be at the top of your priority list. I’m pretty sure you broke some bones.” You didn’t say anything while he rose to gather some supplies together before sitting at your bedside again. You closed your eyes and focused on the warm air as he wordlessly set and wrapped your arm. There wasn’t much he could do about your ribs right now, so he decided to just leave it for the time being. A question itched at the back of your mind.

 

“Corporal?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Why are you helping me so much?” you asked. He stared at you or a few seconds in silence, and you were about to wonder if you had irritated him when he spoke up again.

 

“Let me show you rather than tell you,” he murmured before gently pressing his lips to yours in a sweet kiss. You stiffened slightly before relaxing, allowing your eyes flutter shut. You gingerly began to kiss back, albeit rather shyly due to your lack of experience in this field and fear that you would do something to embarrass yourself. You felt his tongue slide against your bottom lip, a silent request for entry, which you eagerly granted. He explored your luxurious cavern and didn’t leave a single spot untouched, claiming his territory. After lip-locking for Sina knows how long, Levi pulled back to admire his work, earning a slight whine of protest from you. He smirked and leaned his forehead against yours.

 

“I’ve fallen in love with you, (F/n),” he breathed. You felt your heartbeat speed up.

 

“I-I love you too, Levi,” you stuttered. “Wait, c-can I call you Levi?” He pressed a short, chaste kiss to your lips in response. You took that as a yes.

 

“I would take things further, but you’re injured, so hurry up and heal, brat,” he purred tracing a finger down your uninjured arm, causing you to shiver. “For now, I’ll just have to make do with what I can get at the moment.” And he captured your lips in his once again.

 


End file.
